The Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod is an overdrive pedal from Majik Box, built as a heavily modified version of the company's Body Blow overdrive to the specifications of guitarist Jake E. Lee. Jake and his guitar tech Scott Bell asked Majik Box to modify the Body Blow to his exacting specs, and the pedal began shipping in September 2014 at a street price of $239.99.1
The point of the mod was tone. The key idea behind it was to give the Body Blow more "bark and grunt" for Jake E. Lee's solos, and the changes center on an EQ modification plus added gain.1
What the mod changes
Jake E. Lee was looking for an EQ modification to the pedal that would take his usual Charvel Strat bridge humbucker into low-mid-range focused, P-90 pickup territory, along with added gain. In plain terms, the pedal reshapes the midrange of a hot bridge humbucker so it pushes more like a P-90, which is where the bark and grunt in his solos comes from.1
The pedal keeps the standard three-control layout of an overdrive: gain, level and tone.1
How it differs from the regular Body Blow
The Jake E. Lee Mod is a variant of the regular Body Blow overdrive, not a separate design. The announcement describes it as a heavily modified Body Blow circuit, changed at Jake E. Lee's request after he and Scott Bell brought the request to Majik Box. If you know the regular Body Blow, the Mod is that pedal with a low-mid-focused EQ change and more gain on tap.1
Background and shipping
Majik Box announced it was shipping the Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod overdrive on September 26, 2014. The pedal is hand-wired and built in Torrance, CA.1
The $239.99 street price and the shipping announcement both date from September 2014. Availability and pricing may have changed since.
Questions
Is the Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod true bypass?
Yes. According to the announcement of the pedal, the Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod uses true bypass circuitry, so when the pedal is switched off, your guitar's signal passes through the pedal without going through the overdrive circuit. That matters on a pedalboard where several effects can stack up and dull the clean tone.
How is the Jake E. Lee Mod different from the regular Body Blow?
The Jake E. Lee Mod is a heavily modified version of the Body Blow overdrive circuit. Jake E. Lee and his guitar tech Scott Bell asked Majik Box to change the pedal to his exacting specs, with the key idea being more bark and grunt for his solos. The mod adds an EQ change focused on the low-mid range plus added gain, on top of the original circuit.
Where is the Majik Box Body Blow made?
The Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod is hand-wired and built in Torrance, California, according to the pedal's announcement. Majik Box builds its pedals in the United States, and this model began shipping in September 2014.
How much does the Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod cost?
The Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod carried a street price of $239.99 when Majik Box announced it in September 2014. That price was given in US dollars in the announcement and applied at the time the pedal began shipping.
Sources (1)
- Majik Box Unveils Body Blow Jake E. Lee Overdrive Mod, Premier Guitar, 2014-09-26
